Christians as natural enemies

This is simply beautiful:

We're constantly tempted to hang out with people just like us, who like the same things and who don't really push us out of our comfort zone. This is true even - or especially - in the church. No matter who you are, you can find a church where the people are just like you, and the music is exactly what you'd play if you had the remote control.

It's a lot tougher to choose to hang out with those who are different from us. There is no comfort zone then. It becomes costly. The music isn't what we would choose. In this kind of church, the common ground is no longer affinity around anything - except for Christ. Yet it's this type of church that displays God's wisdom, according to Paul in Ephesians. It's this type of church that gets me excited.

Show me a church in which people aren't there because they like the same stuff, and I'll show you a church that shows God's wisdom in a way that a homogeneous church doesn't. Show me a church in which people love each other who would otherwise have nothing to do with each other, and I'll show you something that can only be explained with reference to Christ. You cannot explain the growth of that church in human terms: everyone loves the same [fill in the blank]. It has to be about Jesus

The author of those words is Darryl Dash, and you can read his whole essay here.